WRITERS' GUILD AWARD FOR CLIVE PAGET

The Writers' Guild held their inaugural Encouragement Award Lunch in the Pit bar at the Old Vic Theatre today. I nominated Clive Paget for his unstinting support for POSSESSED, and wonderfully he received one of the awards. We had a very jolly time at the lunch, which was superb, both for conversation and food! I met some really nice people, and it was especially good to meet David the chairman of the Guild Theatres Committee, and hear his stories about New York.

It is so wonderful to be able to "officially" thank someone for having stood by you and your work for years. We all had to give impromptu speeches and I think I said something about him being my "security blanket", which he has been. What he saw in that first draft I sent him when he was Artistic Director at the Bridewell, I really don’t quite know, it bears very little resemblance to the musical play now sitting on my desk. But without his belief in it I would never have got this far. It was fantastic that he was able to direct the Greenwich showcase, even though he was working at the National by then. Working at the National Studio with Steve at my side was an amazing experience, especially because we had such brilliant actors bringing the characters and the songs to life and Clive's insightful direction .

Clive and I talked with David about that special teacher people often have, the one who inspires you and believes in you. To be honest I think Clive has given me more than any of my teachers and I will carry that with me always.

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